Monday, July 20, 2009

Au Naturale

Natural.

Merriam-Webster defines it many ways but I suppose the definitions that speak to me are:

1. Closely resembling an original; true to nature; marked by easy simplicity and freedom from artificiality, affectation, or constraint; having a form or appearance found in the ordinary course of nature.

2. Growing without human care; not cultivated or artificial; existing in or produced by nature.

3. Having an essential relation with someone or something.

Natural, to me, denotes a freshness, a simplicity, uncontrived whether it is in relation to my food, my clothing, my environment, or my relationships.

Natural is the sweet, juicy taste of a sun-ripened melon or tomato as I bite into it. It's very essence dribbling down my chin. The heartiness of a whole-grain homemade bread with a savory soup on a cold winter evening giving sustenance to not only my body, but my soul, with it's warmth.

The cool caress of a linen dress on a summer day. The whisper of silk against my skin on a romantic evening. A thick, white cotton towel blotting away the droplets of water after a refreshing and leisurely swim in the pool.

The simplicity of the plants in the forest, the meadow, the mountain or the beach. Nature knows just how to wear her adornments for the best effect. Unfortunately, we have learned how to mess with her world and upset the balance, so that what was once beautiful is now destroyed by our excess and desire for control. I think of the pine beetle catastrophe in the Rockies and how if our natural world weren't so blighted by our chemicals, I can't help but think we wouldn't be suffering from so many of these disasters. This upset of what is natural, resulting in a landscape that will be forever changed. And that my friends is no exaggeration.

(Now, as I speak from my own personal soapbox, I must admit I struggle with being satisfied with the natural i.e. I cannot abide the natural color of my hair :-) But maybe if it weren't for the chemicals in the air, I wouldn't have to put them on my hair to rid myself of the gray! COULD pollution be the cause of my follicles ceasing to produce color?!) I digress . . .

Naturalness in relationships. A relationship marked by being natural is simple, freeing, joyful and fulfilling in the most beautiful of ways. It is almost "effortless" and when a relationship hits a snag and does require more effort, that effort is a natural extension of love for balance. To enjoy a relationship in which I can be myself, who I am naturally, and be not only accepted for it but embraced for it is pure heaven and a veritable utopia.

Live just as YOU ARE. No artificiality or constraint, throwing abandon to the wind and just reveling in the freedom of being.

Enjoy the natural. You will feel balance. You will create balance in your world for future generations.

But most of all, BE natural.

You will be loved for it with a depth that penetrates to your very core and overflows into your life with an abundance that is fullfilling beyond all measure or comprehension. This I know, because I am experiencing it this very moment.

3 comments:

Steph: Happy to be the first to comment. I continue to be in awe of your self-knowledge and your ability to put into such a lyrical essay. When you write about the feel of a silk dress, I know you are fully in that moment.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I wish you more and more moments of authentic, natural living.